The Nexus Between Green Bonds, Green Credits, and the Energy Transition Toward Renewable Energy Sources: State of the Art

The transformation of the energy market toward renewable finance is achieved primarily through green innovations, which require sources of funding. The aim of this article is to show the state of research on green credit and green bonds in the context of their role in financing the green transition of the energy market. The article uses a critical literature review supported by VoSviewer software and quantitative analysis. While most literature reviews cover green finance or sustainable finance in the energy transition process (macro level), our attempt refers to the level of financial instruments (micro level); we demonstrate the significant role of green credit and green bonds in financing energy transition and the high degree of differentiation in the functionality of both instruments. Specifically, green bonds strongly accelerate green innovation in the energy sector and stimulate energy transition through green credits. Articles from the second typological group identified in the study clearly emphasize this relationship. The remaining key findings highlight the dominant share of developed countries as a base for research and analysis, as well as large enterprises, which were the primary focus of the study.